Before we proceed with the history of the period which followed the close of the Peloponnesian war, our attention must for a time be turned to a series of events, which, though they took place for the most part far beyond the limits of Greece, and did not immediately affect its interests, will be found to be most intimately connected with its final destinies, and with some of the greatest revolutions of the ancient civilised world; and, in the brief account which we are about to give of them, we shall be chiefly guided by this view of their relative importance.

They arose out of the ambition of Cyrus, of whose abilities and enterprising spirit some specimens have been already seen, and were the results of an attempt which he made to place himself on the throne of Persia. He was the second of the four sons of Darius and Parysatis, and, according to the customs of the monarchy, his elder brother Artaxerxes was the legitimate heir apparent. But Cyrus was the first son born to Darius after his accession to the throne, and he was his mother's favourite. She had encouraged him to hope that as Xerxes, through the influence of Atossa, had been preferred to his elder brother who was born while their father was yet in a private station, so she should be able to persuade Darius to set aside Artaxerxes, and declare Cyrus his successor.